UAE athletes win 16 medals at 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games

UAE national chess team member Jasim Al Ali has beaten his Thai rival in round 4 of the Individual Classic Men’s contest of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games hosted by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, which saw 5,000 athletes from 63 countries across Asia and Oceania.

Jasim scored 2.5 points in 4 rounds after finishing in a draw thrice and winning one round. He still has to compete in three rounds of individual contests, which will conclude on Saturday. Wafiya Al Maamary won in rounds 3 and 4 against two female players from Thailand and Jordan, but lost in rounds 1 and 2, and accordingly netted two points. She still has three rounds to play. Wadeema Al Kilbani scored one point in four rounds.

The UAE billiard team beat the Thai team 9-2 and have qualified for the quarterfinals where it will meet Iran. The Emirati snooker team lost to the Afghani team 3-1 in the preliminary rounds.

Sixty-eight players constitute the UAE delegation, which participated in seven different sports. The UAE athletes managed to win 16 medals (five gold, four silver, and seven bronze), 15 of which were in Jiu-Jitsu, and one gold medal was won by Aliaa Mohammed Saeed in the 3,000 m race.

Ibrahim Abdul Malik, Secretary-General of the General Authority for of Youth and Sports Welfare, said, "The results achieved by our players in the Indoor Games augur well for the UAE sport. Some federations have to do much more. First, we have to thank our embassy for its huge role in providing every facility for the delegation. The UAE Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Hasan Al Adhab, and his staff were keen to attend and follow-up all matters and provide every support needed.

"Our results in the Games are a source of pride, especially in Jiu-Jitsu, which has left a superb impression about the UAE sport in such a continental event. I congratulate the Jiu-Jitsu team for its organised work, which has benefitted all. Emiratis were there handling various administrative, technical or judging assignments relating to the Game and they managed to surpass our expectations in medals won. I think the results of the Athletics Federation were good, but they need more practice and training. Athletics has excellent elements capable of making things easy in bringing more achievements in different disciplines.

"The biggest challenge ahead is the Asian Games in Indonesia next year. All federations that could not manage to bring titles in Ashgabat have to reassess their positions right from now in preparation for the world’s second-largest sports event. It will be a key assessment platform for federations. All entities, such as the NOC and the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare are making every support as the real test will be Jakarta Asiad. After that, we will be in a better position to judge," he added.